Creative placemaking at heritage sites between material improvements and selective memory: the case of Wudadao in Tianjin

Abstract

Wudadao, the former British concession area of Tianjin, has undergone significant regeneration over the past decade, becoming a key urban tourism destination. This regeneration, driven by a successful creative placemaking strategy, effectively protected urban heritage, reviving the glory of the 1920s foreign architecture. However, in this paper we argue that these achievements have come at a cost to the existing local community. Drawing on interviews with local authorities and civil society, historical analysis, and field observations, this paper aims to reveal the material and symbolic impact of urban regeneration on Wudadao inhabitants and their stories. The findings show that, on the one hand, local residents have been only partially relocated, and contrary to trends in other Chinese cities, those who remained have experienced some improvements in their daily lives. On the other hand, a process of selective memory has taken place, largely erasing the more complex social history of Wudadao. This approach, which still prioritises material achievements in urban transformation processes and heritage commodification, is currently questioned at the local level, although it has not yet changed the status quo of current practices.